Zero Dark Thirty may not be Oscar 2013's The Hurt Locker after all, as the film has been heavily criticised by a number of American politicians who have described the film as, amongst other things, being "grossly inaccurate."

Kathryn Bigelow's follow-up to the massively successful Hurt Locker has caused quite a stir over some particular scenes that involve suspects being heavily interrogated for information leading to the death of Osama bin Laden. The 'enhanced interrogation techniques' employed in the film, which include actions like 'waterboarding' (simulated drowning), are considered tortuous and clearly reflect badly on the US Government, who in turn have come out to criticise the film.

Three senators have since come forth to blast the film in an open letter addressed to Sony CEO Michael Lynton, writing; “Zero Dark Thirty is factually inaccurate, and we believe that you have an obligation to state that the role of torture in the hunt for Osama bin Laden is not based on the facts, but rather part of the film’s fictional narrative.”

The three senators in question are Senate Intelligence Comittee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, Senate Armed Service Committee Chairman Carl Levin and Senate Armed Service Committee Ranking Member John McCain.

Bigelow and writer Mark Boal have since responded to the letter in a statement explaining: "This was a 10-year intelligence operation brought to the screen in a two-and-a-half-hour film. We depicted a variety of controversial practices and intelligence methods that were used in the name of finding bin Laden.”

Bad news for the Zero Dark Thirty team, but great news for Ben Affleck, Steven Spielberg and the like as this means more chance of Oscar glory for their films now.